"Now, viscomte, don't do anything rash," Erik said, trying to keep his voice- and his head- level. Visions of bad endings danced in his head, and he fought to keep his wits about him against the torrent of thoughts that terrified him so. He'd come so close, he'd waited so long… He couldn't lose her now, not to this crazed nobleman.
"You've no claim on her, wretch. You can stay back, or you can be the cause of her death."
"You're the one with the knife to her throat, viscomte, not I."
"Raoul, please-"
"I have heard just about enough out of you!" the viscomte shouted at the woman kneeling before him, and he jerked the knife up, slashing her across the face. Christine screamed in pain and brought her hands up to defend herself as the viscomte brought the knife down at her face once more. Instead of meeting her cheek as he intended, the knife sliced into the palm of her hand. Erik rushed forward, and found the knife turned on him.
"Not another step, foul beast," Raoul hissed, and he yanked Christine to her feet by the fistful of hair he held. She screamed and sobbed, pleading incoherently with him to just let her go. He brought the knife close to her face again, and she put up her hands to try and save herself, but Raoul growled and hit her with his fist, yanking her head back as he did so. "Open your mouth, Christine."
She shook her head. She knew what he was going to do. In a moment of terrifying clarity, she understood precisely how mentally disturbed her husband had become. She stared up at his face with pleading eyes. "Open your mouth, Christine, or I pick another place to put it," Raoul hissed.
Christine was shaking as she opened her mouth. Raoul pressed the cheek of the blade against her tongue, the edge rested in the corner of her mouth. "Good girl," he said, "now close your mouth."
"No," Erik breathed, "viscomte, do not harm her further."
"She wants to be with a hideous creature such as yourself, monsieur, she ought to be one herself," Raoul said as he glared down at the Phantom, then he turned his attention back to Christine, who was crying too hard to close her mouth. "I'm not going to tell you again, Christine. Close your mouth."
Christine whimpered as her lips closed around the blade. For one horrible moment, they all were still and quiet, save for the stifled sobs coming from Christine. And then that moment passed.
